


In My Time of Dying

by justcallmeizzo



Category: Teen Wolf (TV)
Genre: Character Death, F/M, M/M, Mid-Season 2
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-04-21
Updated: 2013-04-21
Packaged: 2017-12-08 16:05:18
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,713
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/763309
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/justcallmeizzo/pseuds/justcallmeizzo
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Stiles is kidnapped in the middle of the night by Gerard and forced to make a decision that could change everything.</p>
            </blockquote>





	In My Time of Dying

Grabbed from behind and blind-folded, shoved in a van, and driven to some mystery place? Yeah, that had “Argent” written all over it. _But why grab me? I’m not even a werewolf, I mean I may or may not be kind of part of Derek’s pack, but I’m not a werewolf and isn’t that like, the requirement to be hunted by the Argents? Maybe they’ve changed their requirements?…_ Lucky him.

Stiles had been chattering insistently which drove the hunters mad, but they didn’t tell him to shut up and they never once threatened to hurt him. They just let him talk and talk and talk, which only made Stiles more nervous and more talkative. God, he hates the silence. And then the van stopped and he could hear the side door slide open. “Since when did the Argents get a mini-van for these dastardly deeds of theirs? I mean, wow. I guess nothing says scary like a big black mini-van. SUVs are so out of style for kidnapping, am I right?” Stiles got a shove to move him forward faster while simultaneously shutting him the hell up. Even now, no one was talking, and it was driving Stiles crazy. He tried to figure out where they were, but all he could recognize was the woods which wasn’t all that helpful considering Beacon Hills is comprised of about 70% forest. 

After who knows how long, they finally stopped walking and Stiles heard a creaky iron gate open, and then he was pushed down somewhere humid and damp. At this point, he was effectively freaking the fuck out. Are they gonna leave him in some sewer to rot? _I’ve googled those images! Oh my God! What if my dad finds me and I’m all gross and gooey from being forced into the sewer till I die? What if he never finds me and he just assumes the worst? Oh God._ In that second, Stiles regretted every time he ever lied to his dad. I mean sure, he was protecting him, but now Stiles is gonna die in a sewer and his dad won’t even know why. 

He heard the door close and he got pushed forward. _Ok, so I’m not dying alone down here?_ Stiles tried to stop thinking for a little bit, hoping everything would get figured out on it’s own, but Stiles couldn’t stop thinking. Every possible worst-case-scenario was on replay in his brain and he could feel the on-comings of a panic attack. 

Suddenly they were in a larger room and he could only guess this because it had less of a crushing humidity to it. His blindfold was taken off and 6 floodlights brightened the room and effectively blinded Stiles as well. Once his eyes adjusted, he could feel his heart plummet.

In front of him, eyes red and teeth bared, was Derek. Chained up by his ankles and wrists, just floating between the ceiling and the floor. Two floodlights illuminated Derek’s body and Stiles could see the blood trickling down from wounds already healed. Stiles looked to the right and saw Allison, hanging in the same sprawled out manner, but she looked less defiant than Derek. She didn’t have his healing, and Stiles could only imagine what had been happening to her, because her shirt was covered with blood too, and she had a deep cut on her temple and her hair was clumped from dried blood. _What have they done to her?_ Stiles looked to the left of Derek then, and if he thought he was in pain at that point, his heart broke completely when he saw Scott hanging across from Allison. He had scratches across his stomach, as if they almost cut him in half, just to torture him. 

But not just him, Allison too. They were directly across from each other, so they were forced to watch as the other was tortured. _And I thought the Argents couldn’t get more fucked up._

“You may have noticed, we gathered up your friends for a little party,” Gerard said. He walked out from behind Stiles and then stopped in front of him. Stiles was trying to be brave but Jesus Christ, all of his friends were here. People he cared about, and he couldn’t lose anyone else he cared about. He really couldn’t.

“I didn’t realize you were in to the whole bondage thing. You should check out _50 Shades of Grey_. It’ll be right up your alley.”

Gerard smirked and Stiles’ insides yelled at him to get the fuck out. But he didn’t. 

“Your friends aren’t all that interested in your sarcasm and false bravado right now, young Stilinski.” He paused and looked at someone behind Stiles, but Stiles was just trying to stay calm and act normal. He couldn’t handle seeing who else the Argents could have captured. “It’s obvious you’re the brains of this operation.” Stiles was unresponsive. I mean yeah, he was the brains, but he wasn’t gonna let the Argents know any more than they already thought they did.

“Oh, you don’t have to be modest. It’s very obvious I mean, look at this rag-tag pack. You’re the most capable one here. Derek, your Alpha, there’s no way he’s the brains. He’s been a fugitive and captured by my family so many times, there’s no way he’s coming up with these plans. And Scott and Allison? No, they’re too “in love” to focus on making plans to ensure the safety of the rest of the pack. So that leaves you. The only human in the pack. Easiest to kill, really.”

Stiles could feel his heart pounding throughout his whole body. _So he is gonna kill me in a sewer._ “But I’m not gonna kill you. At least, not yet anyway. I just have a proposition for you.” Stiles was freaking out. He could feel the sweat falling from his forehead and he knew he wasn’t acting all “calm, cool and collected” like he wanted to. And a proposition from Gerard Argent? _Oh there is no way in any universe that this could be a good thing._ “I’m going to kill 2 of your friends tonight, Mr. Stilinski. And since you’re the brains of the operation, I’ll let you decide who lives.”

_Are you fucking serious?_ Stiles must have said that out loud because Gerard’s smirk became smug and Stiles just wanted to smack it off his face. Stiles has to kill two of his friends tonight. He could deal with his friends getting tortured because, you know, they’ll heal. But death? Death was something he wasn’t ready for. As many life-threatening missions they go on, he never even puts death on the list of possible outcomes because he can’t deal with that. Not at all. 

“You can save one, Stillinski. Choose wisely.” God, his face was the worst. The way it just exuded satisfaction from watching Stiles squirm. He didn’t want to do this, he really didn’t want to do this, so he looked around for an escape. Scott and Derek got out of here before, there has to be a way right?

There was nothing. The hallway they came in from was blocked by more of the Argent clan and they all had guns and crossbows and Stiles didn’t have to question whether or not they knew how to use them. Stiles ran his hands over his buzz cut, feeling the spikes on his hands. His mouth dropped open because there was no way out. People he cared about where going to die, and it would be his fault. 

“I CAN’T DO THIS! YOU CAN’T SERIOUSLY EXPECT ME TO PICK WHICH 2 OF MY FRIENDS I’M GONNA KILL! I’M 16 FOR FUCK’S SAKE! I CAN’T EVEN DECIDE WHAT TO HAVE FOR BREAKFAST AND YOU WANT TO ME MAKE A DECISION LIKE THIS, YOU PSYCHOTIC ASSHOLE?!” Stiles could feel tears prickling at his eyes. “I won’t do it.”

Gerard just shrugged. “Fine. We’ll kill all of them.” He made a motion with his hands and Stiles heard footsteps move and guns get loaded behind him. 

“NO! Okay! Okay! I’ll choose! Ok! I’ll play your fucked up game ok just. Wait, please.”

That smug look returned and Gerard replied, “You have 5 minutes, genius. Let’s hope you make the right choice.” Oh, fuck. Stiles rubbed his hands across his hair vigorously. How the fuck is he supposed to choose this shit?

He looks at Allison first. She’s been tortured plenty, but more emotionally than anything else, he can just tell. She’s an Argent. She’s part of the family, and Stiles knows that Allison’s dad won’t let anything happen to her. Well, at least he won’t let Gerard kill her. Allison did try to save Kate, right? At least she tried to stop Peter and she mostly does what her family says, except for staying away from Scott. No, Allison will be ok. The Argents don’t kill one of their own. So that leaves Scott and Derek. Oh god.

Stiles turns to Derek who looks him straight in the eye. They’re not red anymore, they’re back to his normal green, but let’s face it, Stiles has never thought Derek’s eyes were normal. His eyes are a tornado of forest and Stiles just wanted to look into them forever, but he can’t. In fact, he may never be able to look into them again. Derek’s the Alpha, so he would definitely have enough strength to fight the Argents if Stiles went with him. He’s got a pack, and he could have a bigger one if he wanted. Not to mention the huge crush Stiles has had on him since he returned to Beacon Hills. Derek’s eyes were focused on Stiles’, and he couldn’t do it anymore. Stiles can’t do this, he can’t actually make this decision and be ok.

He turns to look at Scott. Jesus Christ. Scott pain-in-my-ass McCall. Scott my-best-friend-in-the-whole-world McCall. Fuck. Scott was there for Stiles after his mother died, when the Sheriff took more hours to keep himself busy and Stiles was left alone in the empty house. Scott would show up at the perfect times too, right when Stiles was about to break down in the worst ways. I mean sure, Scott wasn’t the brightest, but with Stiles they were unstoppable. They were a dynamic duo and now Stiles had to decide if he could end that duo. Derek said it earlier, Scott is an alpha. If Derek were gone maybe Scott could take over his pack. He could protect everyone right? I mean, he tries to. Oh who’s he kidding? Scott’s his best friend. His only friend and he really can’t choose anyone else.

Stiles looks at Gerard again. “I made my choice, but I wants to be able to say goodbye. And I have some rules that need to be laid out before I tell you my choice.” Gerard didn’t want rules or exceptions. But he nodded in agreement anyway, because either way, a wolf was getting killed tonight. 

“What are your rules?”

“I leave immediately with the person I choose, and your goons don’t follow us out. They leave us alone. All of us.” Gerard tightened his eyes but didn’t respond. “The people I don’t choose,” Stiles’ voice broke for a second because fuck he’s basically killing someone tonight, “they don’t get tortured anymore. You make it fast and as painless as possible.” 

“I can’t make that promise, Stillinski.”

And then Stiles, on some sort of adrenaline high or something, ran up to Gerard and stopped in front of him. He looked into his eyes, and for a kid who was never taken seriously he looked pretty fucking serious. “You’re making a 16 year old kid kill two of his friends tonight. These are my fucking rules and you’ll fucking follow them asswipe.”

Gerard cocked his head, “Or what?” 

Stiles smirked ever so slightly. “Or I’ll push you back a few feet so Derek can rip your throat out. Tell me, Gerard. How does the rank go in your family if you die? Is it a free-for-all for power? Will the rest of your goons here just kill each other for the slot? Or will they run like the pansies they really are?” Stiles grabbed a fistful of Gerard’s shirt and pulled him closer. “I’d be happy to do an experiment and find out.” Gerard’s eyes widened the tiniest bit. Stiles could see that his threat worked when a hint of respect flashed in Gerard's eyes. He nodded curtly in response.

Stiles let go, shocked that he threatened Gerard fucking Argent and Gerard had backed down. “So you agree to my terms?” Gerard nodded and walked around Stiles to the rest of the Argent clan. “Say your goodbyes kid. Then make your choice.”

Stiles started with Allison, because he thought it would be the easiest for some reason. There was nothing easy about any of this. She looked down at him, her brown eyes already had tears streaming from them. Fuck. “I know, Stiles.” 

“No, I mean. They’re your family Allison. Your father isn’t gonna let them kill you and I know that and you know it. I’m so sorry Allison.” She was biting her lip and crying and Stiles hated this. He hated it so much. 

“It’s okay Stiles. I understand.” Even now she was acting brave and Stiles couldn’t handle it. He hugged her around her waist tenderly, because her shirt was covered in blood and he assumed it was hers. He looked up at her one last time, forcing a smile, before turning around and walking to Scott.

Scott lifted his head to look down at Stiles. His puppy dog eyes were so full of pain that Stiles wanted nothing more than to break him down right then and there. “Hey man.” Scott’s voice was crackly and worn from screaming. 

Stiles clenched his jaw and said, “Hey. You holdin’ up ok?” 

Scott tried to shrug while he said, “I’ve seen better days.” Christ. How could Stiles not pick Scott? His best fucking friend. 

“I love you, man. You’re my best friend and you’ve always been there for me. I wish this never happened to you.” 

Scott smiled, but it didn’t reach his eyes. “You’re my best friend too. And I wouldn’t change anything. I mean, maybe I wouldn’t have gotten caught but, everything else, all the adventures and shenanigans with you. It was all worth it. I love you Stiles. You’re my brother, always.” Stiles was a mess. Tears were running down his face because Scott only talked like that to Allison. He wasn't mushy anywhere else and Stiles hugged him too before turning toward Derek.

He was in front of a bound and tied, shirtless Derek. He couldn't even say how many times he had wanted this, but it definitely wasn’t like this in his fantasies. “If you pick me to live I’ll rip your throat out with my teeth,” Derek growled. 

And Stiles laughed. 

It was inappropriate and stupid but he couldn’t help it. Derek was being a martyr and Derek actually thought Stiles would pick him. “That was the first threat you ever made to me, when you got shot.” 

He smirked and said, “I figure in my time of dying I could afford to be a little sentimental.” 

_In my time of dying? Goddamn Derek._ He could read Stiles like a fucking book. “You know, I can pick whoever I want. I could save you… if I wanted.” 

Derek just shook his head. “You know what I like most about you Stiles? Your loyalty. You always put the needs of the pack above your own, the needs of your friends above your own. Scott’s your friend, and the moment you were given a choice, I knew you were gonna pick Scott. Because that’s just who you are Stiles.” Derek sighed, “It’s what makes you so great.” _Oh fuck this shit._

Stiles located a chair near a bunch of torture instruments which he avoided contact with completely. He grabbed it, plopped it down in front of Derek, and climbed up so he was face-to-face with him. “You’re such an asshole.” 

And then he pressed his lips into Derek’s. It was rough and desperate and Stiles just wished that it were happening at any other moment in time. He moved his hands through Derek’s hair and heard the growl in his throat. These were the things Stiles wanted to remember about him. The smell of him, the feel of his hair, the movement of their tongues together. And when they stopped kissing, Stiles just pressed his forehead to Derek’s and breathed in because for the first time that night, he wasn’t freaking out. The moment was perfect. 

And then it was over.

One of the Argents grabbed Stiles by the stomach and pulled him off the chair. He could hear Derek growl possessively and he looked up quickly to see the red eyes return. Tears formed in Stiles’ eyes because this was so beyond fucked up, even by Argent family fucked up-edness. 

Gerard stood next to him and said, “So, who have you chosen to save, Mr. Stillinski?” 

Stiles could feel his face contort without his control and then he whispered, “Scott.” The person holding him let go, and it took all his strength not to fall over. He could hear the chains being moved by Scott to let him down, but Stiles just looked at Derek dumbstruck. Derek gave a nod and a half committed smirk while Stiles just stood there. Scott was carried over to Stiles, and they both just stood there for a moment looking between Allison and Derek.

“Time to go.” 

“Wait!” 

Gerard rolled his eyes. “What now?” 

Stiles looked at Scott and said, “Let him say goodbye, too.” 

“That wasn’t part of the deal-” 

“WELL MAKE IT PART OF THE DEAL! WAITING FIVE MORE MINUTES TO KILL THEM WON’T CHANGE THE FACT THAT YOU’RE GOING TO KILL THEM OKAY SO JUST LET HIM SAY GOODBYE!” Without waiting for a response, Scott hobbled over to the chair in in front of Derek. He paused for a second and Stiles could see their lips moving, but he couldn’t hear them. Then Scott pulled the chair in front of Allison, climbed up, and kissed her. Gerard started to move toward them, but Stiles stopped him. Stiles got a goodbye kiss, Scott would get one too.

Stiles didn’t look back at Derek, but he couldn’t watch Scott’s goodbye anymore. When he got down and stood next to Stiles, that was when Stiles looked up again. First to Allison, who was crying openly. He mouthed a sorry to which she just shook her head. Then he looked to Derek. He looked as stoic as ever, but a single tear fell and Stiles just nodded, trying to put every sorry he could into the movement. 

And Derek just nodded back.

Gerard pulled them both back to the hallway and gave directions to the exit. Soctt and Stiles walked slowly to the exit, both in shock of what was happening. They didn’t hear any screams. Only three gunshots echoing in the hallway, and it took everything they had not to turn back. They made it out and Stiles knew exactly where he was. Through the trees he could see the broken down Hale house. Stiles went to the minivan that brought him there and saw the keys were on the seat. Scott climbed in the passenger seat and Stiles drove them home.

Stiles didn’t get out of bed the next week except to use the bathroom. 

Scott visited everyday, and went to school because he really couldn’t afford to miss any more classes. Allison was at school, just like Stiles knew she would be. The only person he killed that night was Derek. God, that night felt so long ago. But every night it felt like it was happening all over again. Stiles could tell his father was getting worried, but he couldn’t talk about it. He couldn’t do anything except stay in bed and try not to let his guilt eat him up inside. 

Eventually he went back to school, but he quit lacrosse, his grades sucked, and he lost 15 pounds. Stiles was always scrawny, but now he just looked sick, and he knew it, but he couldn’t bring himself to care. Nothing mattered anymore. He didn’t do research anymore. He didn’t so anything honestly. One afternoon after school, honestly Stiles didn’t even know what day it was, Scott pushed him against his wall. “Stiles! Come on man! I promised Derek I’d take care of you, and I’m trying, but nothing’s working! I need you to try a little ok. Just… We’re all really worried about you.” Scott shrugged and Stiles walked off without saying anything. 

_I am trying. I got out of bed, didn’t I?_ Stiles looked into the bathroom mirror and saw just how skinny he had gotten. God, his cheekbones had never looked so sharp. He had dark circles under his eyes. He understood why his friends were worried, I mean, he looked like he was about fall over if it got too windy. And then the words hit him. 

_Derek made me promise to keep you safe._

After all this time, he finally knew what Derek said. Stiles smiled at first, but then he just started laughing. He was hysterical and crying and laughing and Scott ran in and just stared at him confused because what the hell was Stiles doing? “He’s not even here and he’s still controlling!” Stiles knew it wasn’t funny, he did, but he hadn’t laughed in so long and it felt good. He shook his head and clasped Scott on the shoulder, “You know what I could go for? I chocolate milkshake, a big greasy burger, and the largest order of fries the world has ever known.” 

Stiles wasn’t better, it would be a while till he was if he ever was, but he was gonna try more. Some days he couldn’t get out of bed and other days he would do nothing but chatter insistently to anyone who would listen, but every night he remembered the decision he made so many nights earlier. 

And eventually there was only one moment he ever remembered.

**Author's Note:**

> This is really sad and I'm sorry I wrote this. I wrote it before season 2 finished and I just searched through my tumblr and found it, so I thought I'd post it...
> 
> I'm sorry...
> 
> And there was an even worse ending planned and I'm just really thankful I didn't go down that path, wow.


End file.
